Strapping Young Lad, City (Century Media-1997)
Now and then a metal album comes along and just makes you wonder why bother. I still remember my first listen of this amazing album. March 1997 just back from Music Mania (Old Glasgow shop) and the owner said to me good luck as I left the shop.
I see why for 1997 it is such a crazy album. For 2012 it is still a crazy album. In 2050 it WILL still be a crazy album. But it is a good thing. Devin Townsend hits such highs on this album that it will always be a benchmark for the nosier side of things. The band was started as more of a joke band. Much like Spinal Tap. Devin was playing guitar with Stevie Vai for a while and was a well respected musician. But he had to break away from being in someone else's band and start his own. And well job done.
I say a joke album not so much as in ha ha look at the haircuts but the music is just so over the top. It was not trying to push boundaries but show how full of shit the boundaries are. We all have seen the Cannibal Corpse album covers and heard the guttural vocals of death metal. At times it is good but much of it is a load of crap. First song 'All Hail the New Flesh' follows on from an epic intro track to really take metal to you.
There is so much going on here on this album I really don't want to review this album with words like"heavy", "Loud" and "Skullcrushing". Saying this album is heavy over and over is again the joke. But Devin is so good at making music. Not just a great writer and guitar player he has crafted this album into more than a white noise album. You can feel some real music in this, it may be layered over and over in the tracking in the album. But you do get a real sense of another listen and each time it gets better.
Songs like 'Detox' that may have a meaning to us all are delivered with such attitude it feels as if it is perfectly normal to play like this. Big riffs and a great drum sound are all here each track builds nicely and shows the listener that at times heavy music can create just as much character as a comedy actor.
Devin deemed himself a musical whore due to being forced to play with other artists that I think this album was his therapy and also the reason to move on. 'Oh my Fucking God' is as it says on the tin. Again mocking the play faster to be fastest band attitude. During the song it slows down with the lyrics just repeating the song name. Point made and at times he is so right.
'AAA' is the song that changes style a little, slower and more industrial feeling. Cleaner guitars are here but still made to sound big by Devin. You could call this a slow song in a way but well the rule book has been binned for this album.
This album really got noticed in the press and only in the metal press. I think it does deserve to be listened by more people who may hate metal music. Remember metal is not just Metallica and Slayer, give this a try and if only to have an album to get one back on the noisy crap music that is played by the neighbors till 4am on a Sunday morning.
The album was on a metal label but that really should not have stopped it selling more. It was also Devin's first full on band album (His first SYL was more him and a drum machine). It really shows what he could do and his fantastic studio skills. This album set him up for all his solo work, a body of work that is more varied than most of the 70s put together. People who say they like classic rock music may mock this album but I say this is never going to sound classic. Now that is worth a listen.
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